Feed-water heater



Aug. 31, 1943.

E. P. WORTHEN FEED-WATER HEAT-ER Original Filed July 25, 1941 4 Sheets-Sheet 1 Aug. 31, 1943. E. P. WORTH EN 2,328,045

FEED-WATER HEATER Original Filed July 25, 1941 4 Sheets-Sheet 3 0000000000 00000000 0000 0000000000 0 0 0 Q .Q o o o I W O O O O Aug; 31, 1943. E. P. WORTHEN FEED-WATER HEATER 4 Sheets-Sheet 4 Original Filed July 25, 1941 mSW 2 Patented Aug. 31, 1943 mvisms PATENT: OFFICE?! I 1 H V 'WA H A l Eugene Eastweymouth,

gnu: toBuena Vista Iron Companytalcor- ,poration otNewJersey j] l i i Oflglnalafiplicatiori July 25,1941, serial No.

404,011; Divided and this application July .27, .lenaseiia ml sans 1 q'rhis invention relates to a combined lowpressure feed-water heater, and more particularlyto ac'omblnedflo'w pressurefeed water heater embodying in one unit a plurality of auxiliary heat exchangers suitable for marinewuse; the present I application being a. division or my p n ine t,

application, Serial n 404,011, filed July 5, 1941, for a combination low pressure feed heater h Modern high pressure steam plants with three I or niorestages of feedheatingoonlprise usually a large number of individual heat-exchangers,

eachhaving its separate-shell, heads, interconnecting piping, by-pass piping and valves. These separate units are always expensive to furnish andmaintain, and in marine installations p rticuiarly, are excessively wasteful of'valuable n space and weight; A great deal of heat escapes unused because or the exposurefoi broad radiatof 1 1,, with 4 tubes, shown"rlorolren away, as

above; Figrfi is tubesheet.

Fig. 6 is an end view of the tube .Fig. 7 isa'section aimuninhibited.

Iig. 8 is a functionaldiagramof the: said threesectton unit showing b hlegends, and arrows the coursed! the condensate therethrough.

Referringnow to 'thedrawings, my invention comprises aiclosed type; heat exchanger unit emplaying banksioi' straightttubes l, 2,3,1, 5,8,1. and 8, and eombiningtw-ithin"theisingle shell! the feed heater dram coblenm, tir'eglandleakofi The shell or casing! is ixinstructdof welded steelplate, and preferably isrectangularin cross ing surfaces, thus requiring unnecessarilylarge expenditures for fuel and additionalexpense for insulating coverings Also, it is I sometimes, a difl'lcult proposition tokeep a feed heater prop,-

erly drained and dryywhile completely flooding its drain cooler at the same time, yet both condl-y tionsare necessary for the most, em'cient operation. l y One object of my invention, theriore,=is a closed type straight-tube heater combining within one shell first stage feed heater, gland I leakofl oondenser and feed heater drain cooler.

Another object is a combination lowpressure unit which insures flooding the drain cooler while keeping the feed heater dry.

y A nother object is a cheaper and more,compact heat exchange system with much iesspipin and fewer, valves and other parts than conventional systems.

{Still another obj ectfis a low pressure heat I exchange system suitable and adapted for marine use.

the ,tubeswbroken "awayin order-to disclose the structure more plainly. n

\Fit. is a section along the center lineot wf A Numerousiothcr objects and advantageswillbe i 3 art for pressure tightnessw r section as shown, althou'gli 'it may 'be made in circular or other form if desired; ii Tube sheets l3 and llr a're weldedll'to the ends of said shellfl, within which are" welded the two horizontal steel division plates l5 and I6 separating tlre=three sections 011 the unit; Saidadivision plates are welded allfaround to the sides or the shell land tube sheets-i3 and ll to insure pre'ssure tightness U between the sland leakoif condenserlil'i which is located in the oent'e'l' and operates 'atiapproxb rnatelyatmospheric pressure, and the first stage feed heater I! located atthe top and the drain cooler Ill located at the bottom, both ofwhich" latter sections "operate under partial; vacuum.

Tubes in banks 1,1,3, '4 5,1,1 an s are expanded intothe tube sh'eets at theinlet ends andfare packed with metallic or other suitable packing at the outlet ends to permit free elip'ansion'o'f shell and tubes (Figs. 5 and-6 X Staggered-vertical baifle plates i1, II and a-re'weldedas shown in eachsection. it

Inlet-Outlet waiterhe a dllljis prdvided'with c011- densate inlet 2i "and condensate outlet 22 (said inlet 21 and outlet 22 havingif desired tappedconnections 23 and respectively for the inser tlon of convehtional'thermometers 23' and 24"); e

and internal" division walls 25, 2S, j2"l@and"'128 1'orming chambers 29, 30,'3l, 32 and fll l T Return waterhead 34 is supplied with'lrecirculatingconnection l5, tapped holsLSG (closed ordinarily by plugs) for cleaning when necessary,

! and internal division walls 31:, 38=and3 9forming secured to its respective tube shejet, and provided with gaskets or the like means well known to the an en "at or the mitt-tuna; end

Feed heater drain cooler is provided with drain inlet port 44 and drain outlet 45 near opposite ends thereof, and connection 45 therebetween. Gland leakofi condenser II has vapor inlet port 41, and drain outlet 48 at the opposite Intermediate between fan foundation is located bleeder steam port 53 to first stage iced heater l2, said bleeder steam port having at the bottom thereof perforated inlet plate-54. Coupling 55 connects to drain line 55: tomain con-"f denser (not shown), feed heater temperature is indicated by a thermometer 56' on coupling 5t,-

' and pressure is known through a conventional glands. J "Thejfeed heater l2 and drain cooler Ill vacuum pressure gage (not shown)on coupling Port 53 is connected by drain regulator 59 and water glass 60 to drain cooler connection 46, and drain'port 6| connects by .half-pipe62 fitted with vent 53 to inlet port 44 in drain cooler H3, wherein drain outlet 45 is'connected by pipe 6d and throttle valve 65 and further piping to. the main condenser.

Under operating conditions, th above-de scribed unit is located in the feed circuit between the air ejector'condensers .and.the second'stage deaerating feed heater. (not shown) Condensate coming from the air ejector after'ji'condensers enters the inlet connection 2! atsthe bottom'of the inlet-outlet waterhead?!) and: flows successively through the. passes of tube banks l of the drain cooler l0, tubebanks 2 and 3 of glandleake off condenser ,I I, andtube banks 4, 5, 6, 1 and 8 of feed heater [2 to the outlet'connection 22'at the top of said waterhead 20.

The feed heater section bine. .(not shown) which at full power will maintain asteam pressure in the heater shell of about 8 pounds per square inch absolute. Steam en-' ters'near one end of the shell through bleeder steam port 53, and is directed several times across thetubes by in'ternal'baille plates l9. Feed heat-' er drains are conducted by drainjoutletzport 6! through half-pipe 62 to inlet port 44 opening into drain cooler |0.-, After traversing the passes of baflie plates I! in the said draincooler, the cooled drains are discharged to the main condenser (not shown) through the drain. level regulator 59 and throttle valv 65 arranged to keep' feed heater free and drain cooler full of drains at allqtimes.

Theair'and vapor mixture coming from the turbine glands enters one end .ofgland leakoif condenser II are discharged to the. fresh water drain collecting-tank (not shownlthrough drainoutlet 48, which is located at the fansuctionend so that drains and air'vapor mixture flowin the, same direction. i

[2 receives heating 1 steam from the bleeder on-thelow pressure turunit is left in the feed circuit.

no heating of the condensate in said drain cooler ID at low power because under that condition the steam supplied to the first stage heater [2 from the bleeder on the low pressure turbine is at approximately the same temperature and pressure as the exhaust to the main condenser, hence the drains going to the drain cooler '10 are only slightly above the temperature of the condensate leaving the condenser. The condensate entering the saiddrain cooler I0 may be at the same oreven higher temperature than the drains since at that point it has already received some heat y from the air ejector condensers.

' In port, with the main turbine shut down, the The condensate from the dynamo condenser is then sufficient to "condense the" steam from the generator turbine all efficiency, and the feed heater drained through the drain line 55. During theshutdown period the vapor from the turbine glands will be discharged to the engine room. If the shut-down is made under port conditions there willbeonly the negligible amount of vapor from At low power, with small quantities of conden'a sateavailable, provisionis made-for recirculating part of the condensate to the main or dynamo condensers through connection'35; atfthe' exit to the last pass of the glandleakoir condenser" l l'on return waterhead 34., Although the recirculated condensate passes through drain cooler l0 ahead of the gland leakoff condenser there islittle or the dynamo turbine glands to be discharged to the engineroomand negligible loss in efiiciency.

. Although Ihave thus described my invention in considerable detail,.I desire it to be clearly understood that I reserve the right to use such substitutions,'modifications or equivalents there.- of as are embraced within the scope and spirit of my invention-as defined in the appended claims.

1 Hayingthusdescribed my invention, what I mama new and useful-and desire to secure by Letters Patent is:

Ax'zcnnbined feed heater unit comprising an inlet port for receiving condensate, aieed heator drain lcocler having a .tubepass for the passage of said condensate, a gland leakoff con-- denser havingtwo tube passes for the further passage of said condensate, a first stage feed heaterhaving a plurality of tube passes for the final passage and heating of said condensate, means for connecting in series relation the drain cooler and the gland leakoff condenser and the feed heater, and an'outlet port for discharging said condensate. v n I p 2. In a multi-stage steam-"plant including main and dynamo condensers and air ejector after'condensers, a closed type heater comprising in one shell a drain cooler, a gland leakoff condenser, a feed heater, a plurality of communicating means for connecting the drain cooler and the gland leakoff condenser and the feed heater in series relation, and a recirculating'outlet on one of said communicating means adjacent the discharge end of the gland leakofi condenser, whereby condensate coming from air ejector aft er condensers passes successively as a coolant through the drain cooler. and the gland leakoff condensenand part thereof. is then recirculated through the recirculating outlet to the main or dynamoco-ndensers and the remainder is heated and discharged by the feed heater.

3. In a multi-sta'ge steam plant including external condensers and a turbinehaving glands and 'bleeder, a combined unit having straight tubesrfo'r the passage oficondensate and com'- prising a single enclosing. shell, a feed heater sectio-nrtherein, .a. perforated inlet connection .in

3 '4: In anapparatus of the 'class describe d, a

"unitary shell having two partition walls, one

above the other, extending substantially horiw zontally across said unitary shellso as todivide the interior of the unitary, shell-into three-sec tions, [comprisingv from top tobottom a reed heater, a turbine gland leakotl condenser, and

tion, a plurality N V 1] 2,328,045 :the top, of said feed haatei' sectioncforladmitting bleeder steam, staggered internal vertical battles anda first stage feed heater, verticallzaaiiie-plates in each compartment forming passages therein,

a tube-sheet; secured at each open end of; said w shell, a plurality of straight horizontal tubesextending between said sheets and opening on the outside [of said sheets for heat-transference and thef flow of condensate in proper sequence through the tubes in the various compartments,

7 'a steam port for receiving steam from the turplate for preventing direct" impingement of hi ghr velocity steam on the said tubes of thefirst stage a feed heater drain cooler, the said sections be-} ing respectively separated by the said horizontal H walls, tubes in each section-forthe passage of condensate from a condenser, means for connecting said sections in series, meanslfor cirj culating steam about the tubes for heating the condensate in the feed heater, means for sepaexpelling said air and vapor, means for conducting drains from the feed heater 'toQ-the drain cooler, means for maintaining the level; of said drains midway between the feedheater and the drain coolerand meansfor discharging the spent 5 Inamulti-stage steam plant including main,

' andfauxiliary condensers,-air ejector inter and after condensers, second stage deaerating feed heaters, turbine glands and ,bleeder, and fresh water drain collectingtank, a low pressure feed bine bleeder to heat the jcondensatein thejtubes of the first stage feed heater, a perforated inletfeed heatenan outlet port atthe top of one passage of condensata-a water head at each end of the sheets, an inlet port in one water head at the bottom thereof for receivihgtcondensate 'from 'thejlair ejector after condensers, internal 7 divisionwalls in both water heads for; directing water head for discharging the heated condensate from the first stage feed heater tubes, an ex+ j haustport at the opposite endof the feed heater from the steam port, an inlet port in the drain cooler, a half-pipe welded tothe shell for con-' ducting drains from the exhaust port'of the first ing. a. drainregulating device for controlling the rating air and vapor comingfrom turbine glands yin the gland leakofl condenser and. separately level of-drains to keep the drain cooler flooded therewith andthe first stage feed heater dry,

stage feed heater to the drain cooler for coolmeans ,for conducting excess drains from the v H to said outlet connection fordravving by suction the said air and vapor mixture through the passages of the baflle-plates in'the gland leakofi heater unit comprising a unitary, containing shellsubstantiallyrectangular in transverse seci superposed compartments in said shell comprising a drain cooler, a gland" leakofl condenser,

oi" horizontal division plates Storming inyorder from the bottom rectangular condenser and discharging same to atmosphere,

and a drain outlet locatedat the fan-suctionend, oithe gland leakofi condenser for discharging drains therefrom to the fresh water drain collecting tank.-

EUGENE ron'raa'rwonrnnn.

drain cooler to the main condenser, aninlet conl i t nection for receiving the air; and vapor-mixture f 1 t l from theturbine glands at one end of the gland leakofi condenser, an outlet connection at the J :opposite end. of the glandleakofl condenser, an

exhaust fan mountedon said unit and connected, 

